Can Chatbots Replace Real Estate Brokers?

Chatbots (short for Chatterbots) is a computer program that is designed to stimulate a conversation with humans, especially over the internet. They represent real-times solutions to engage prospective customers in meaningful conversations. And here, meaningful conversation leads to long-lasting business relationships.

If the real estate industry is all about establishing good business relationships, is there any room for chatbots, and can they really replace professionals like real estate brokers?

Unlike bots that give standard answers to questions like Apple’s Siri, which answers only one given question at a time, chatbots offer more complex engagement with users. The artificial intelligence of a chatbot can carry a potentially unlimited conversation and some may even learn beyond their content base.

It seems unbelievable that chatbots can improve the level of services for human needs, especially when there is so much technology fatigue and inadequacy in the digital world. But the new generation of chatbots will do tasks quickly and efficiently, giving business’s the time to focus on developing strategies, improve their digital marketing services and foster good relationships with customers.

Chatbots role in Real Estate Application

The real estate industry is by nature a relationship-oriented industry. Agents, brokers, and clients form bonds over the most important and largest consumer transaction that takes place – purchasing or selling a home.

Chatbots are used in websites where they pop up whenever the visitor shows interest in a property or is making an inquiry. They pop up as a message on the screen, introduce themselves and then proceed to help you. They are programmed with artificial intelligence to recognize specific keywords by identifying words like, ‘buy’, ‘sell’, ‘property’, etc.

Here are a few ways chatbots are used for real estate websites:

Assists the online user by providing property details from a large database of information: “I’m looking for a residential property with at least one acre”

Asks questions to create the user’s profile: “Are you looking for a bigger house?”

Answers questions related to finances: “How can I save maximum money if I want to sell my house?”

Integrates with chatbots from social media platforms: “I want a house similar to Taylor Swift’s country home”

If you notice, all of these questions require more than just a simple answer. They are targeted questions that are conversation builders destined to arrive with a call to action. Chatbots have the potential to entice and engage skeptical or shy customers, by prompting and encouraging them to pick up the phone and speak to an actual agent.

Good chatbots never pretend to be something they are not. They will never pass off as human agents. A real estate company can hire a digital marketing agency to design and develop chatbots that will transform their marketing, social media strategy and help capitalize on the latest conversational trend.

Do Real Estate companies use Chatbots?

Recently, chatbots have been projected as a marketing toy for real estate companies and brokerages. Nowy Adres, a real estate developer from Poland created a chatbot called “Kasia”. Portrayed as a female, it serves as the “brand face” for a virtual real estate fair organized by the company. The chatbot helped website visitors by answering real estate queries, providing information from the company’s database and supporting navigation and offering search options. Another company called Apartment Ocean developed a chatbot called “Mary” to serve as a real estate advisor for renters in the United States. “Holmes,” a chatbot was recently unveiled by Structurely to generate leads. It was designed to interact on a variety of platforms, from realtor.com to Facebook.

If you are a real estate company owner looking for ways to engage your customers online, you can seek professional help from a lead generation agency like Wisoft Solutions. We believe that chatbots are tools to establish good business relationships with real estate brokerages and their customers. Now, it’s not a matter of whether chatbots can replace real estate brokers, it’s a matter of when. Are you ready for this change? If you are,